UPSC Mains 2016 GS3 Q7 — Water Management
What is water-use efficiency? Describe the role of micro-irrigation in increasing the water-use efficiency. (Answer in not more than 200 words)
Question Decoded — examiner's intent
- Directive verbs
- What isDescribe
- Scope keywords
- water-use efficiencymicro-irrigationincreasing the water-use efficiency
- Implicit sub-parts
- Definition of Water-Use Efficiency (WUE) in both physical and economic terms.
- The mechanisms of Micro-Irrigation (Drip/Sprinkler) that minimize conveyance and evaporation losses.
- Institutional or technological hurdles that prevent micro-irrigation from reaching its full WUE potential.
- Reference to 'Per Drop More Crop' (PMKSY) as the policy context for increasing efficiency.
- Common pitfalls
- Defining water-use efficiency only as saving water, without mentioning crop yield or biomass produced per unit of water.
- Spending too much time describing how a drip system works technically rather than focusing on its efficiency outcomes.
- Ignoring the fertigation aspect, which is a key component of efficiency beyond just water delivery.
- Failing to mention the challenges like high initial cost or clogging of emitters that impact long-term efficiency.
- Dimensions required
- Agronomic/TechnicalEconomicEnvironmentalPolicy/Governance
- Marks allocation hint
Dedicate approximately 40 words to a precise definition of WUE. Use 120 words to detail how micro-irrigation impacts efficiency through precision delivery and reduced wastage. Use the remaining 40 words for a brief mention of challenges and the strategic importance of PMKSY to provide a complete UPSC-style conclusion.
Unlock the full analysis for this question
You've seen the question and its examiner-intent decoding. Subscribers also get:
- 🔗 Similar Previous Year Questions — cross-year, cross-paper matches so you study the topic, not the question
- 📚 Source Map — verified citations from Laxmikanth, NCERT, PRS, Yojana, Economic Survey, Spectrum
- 🌱 How this topic is evolving — current-affairs bridge anchored to live TARS news clustering
- 🧭 Examiner's Pattern — how the topic has been framed across every year UPSC has tested it
- ✍️ Answer Skeleton — a structured outline (intro → body → conclusion) you can flesh out
- 🎯 AI evaluation — write your answer, get rubric-based scoring from gs-eval
Or browse 132+ free preview questions across all years and papers — the first 3 questions of every paper are unlocked.
Ready to practice?
Subscribers can attempt this question in 200 words and get an instant, rubric-based evaluation showing where they stand.
Subscribe to evaluate your answer →